The Durrells

The Durrells

By Kay Gardiner 12/2/18

Dear Ann,

Our beloved and gone-too-soon friend, Belinda, considered it her personal mission (among many others) to school me in contemporary English culture. This involved cookbooks with weird vocabulary, measurements, and oven settings, gin & tonic in a can from Marks & Spencer, and teaching me the importance of The Kinks, who were underappreciated in America, or at least in the part of it I come from.

Belinda’s campaign also involved a bit of Literature. In the time we knew each other, I can remember Belinda giving me three books. She didn’t just give them, she pressed her own copies on me. They were: Cold Comfort Farm, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. The first two were essential simply to be able to understand half of what Belinda said, as many of her best lines were sourced from these books. The third became my favorite.

I liked My Family and Other Animals so much that when a television series called The Durrells in Corfu started popping up on my local PBS station, I steered clear for a season or two. I didn’t want someone else’s vision of English eccentrics in a remote island setting upsetting my imagination. (A much younger me once refused to watch Little House on the Prairie, because, among many other things, Pa did not look one little bit like Michael Landon.)

But eventually I gave in. (Regarding the Durrells, not Little House. I stand firm on Little House.) The mother of the family is played by Keeley Hawes, who is simply wonderful; I could not resist watching her play Mrs. Durrell.

I’m very glad I gave in. The Durrells in Corfu is perfect knitting television. It’s funny, intelligent, scenic, and gentle, and I don’t need to read subtitles (or at least not very often; I think once in a while someone speaks in Greek). And Keeley Hawes steals the show in my opinion. I don’t remember the book focusing on her nearly as much as the television series does. (The book is written by the youngest son of the family, who was a close observer and honest recorder of human frailty.)

For those who refuse the television version, there is an audiobook. As soon as that thought occurred to me, I went to Audible.com and found that there are three versions, including one narrated by Hugh Bonneville. What a treat! But how to choose?

Love,

Kay

P.S. PBS Passport has all three seasons of The Durrells in Corfu; the third season is currently airing on my local station, and perhaps others.

Can’t believe CCF is not your favorite. Twas for this I cowdled thee as a mommet? (Not that I knew you as a mommet, but okay.) I’m rereading it for the 20th time right now. It’s part of my mental hygiene. But now I will get a copy of My Family and Other Animals asap.

Thank you! Loved the Kinks, but then I am older than you and grew up in NY, and still reread The Hitchiker’s Guide. Agree about Michael Landon, but watched it anyway, but don’t get me started on Anne with an E. I now have something new to read and watch, so thank you again.

My Family and Other Animals also a favorite laugh-out-loud book of mine and then of my children. The PBS show failed, in my opinion, to convey the incredible beauty of the countryside and the sea as written by Gerald, and the pretentiousness of his older brother, the soon to be famous writer, Lawrence. I watched it anyway.

Yes! Caught season 1&2 on Amazon but they don’t have season 3 yet. It is fantastic! Not so slow moving that I didn’t binge watch several episodes in a sitting. It leaves you with a vague hopeful feeling that things will be ok.

The A Word on Amazon prime is a really good series, 2 seasons. It’s set in Northern England, gorgeous countryside. The story and acting are great. Second seasons focuses more on the other family members. Anyone that watches British tv shows will recognize actors on there.

I ordered My Family and Other Animals from the library and Cold Comfort Farm from Book Depository (I had already read Hitchhikers). If anyone else orders Cold Comfort Farm, watch out for abridged editions. They get terrible reviews and are everywhere on the US book sites!

I love the book and film and other recommendations, though I usually let them slip into some kind of black hole. At the moment, my limited pleasure-reading time has been devoted to one author. Need to broaden my literature! I also appreciate the – are they called hyperlinks? – to previous blog posts, or pattern pages, etc. I reread the post about Belinda – so much to love about that, so sorry to again read of her passing. I also found the Tamatori cowl on Ravelry, but the pattern isn’t available. Does anyone know if the stitch pattern has a name? It looks fairly straightforward, and I could figure out the rest of the pattern. I don’t say this often enough, but thanks again for everything!

Kay – thank you! If you can find the stitch pattern that would be fab! My current focus is stash-busting. I want to make an appreciable dent in my stash so I can justify buying more yarn from MDK! It looks like a good stitch pattern for a simple-enough cowl.

I LOVED My Family and Other Animals. I read it such a long time ago that I don’t remember much about it except for Gerry. It was written by him and in the first person. I did not think about Audible and have to ‘re-read’ with Audible. Loved the TV series, although the historical facts are a bit inaccurate, regarding Lawrence.

I used to read Gerald Durrell’s book, The Fantastic Flying Adventure (https://www.amazon.com/Fantastic-Flying-Journey-Gerald-Durrell/dp/0671649825) to second and third graders. They loved the story of a kind great-uncle traveling around the world with his great niece and nephews. The Dollybutt (hoots of laughter!) children meet up with a wide variety of animals as they go through their adventure. This book introduced me to Gerald Durrell and I’ve enjoyed his work ever since.

CCF! Yes! Always, always give a copy to folks experiencing “a bit of trouble” – nothing like it. Then RATETU – loved that particularly when dramatized on NPR years ago. The Durrells were pressed upon me by a beloved and wise friend years ago and I enjoyed every one of the books I read immensely despite resultant bad news regarding behavior within the family. Sometimes one must simply move swiftly on…. Hear hear to light reading, huzzah!

As a kid, I read every book that Gerald Durrell wrote, some of them multiple times. I even wrote to the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust enquiring about membership. I think that’s where my love of nature and science began.

PS – as a kid ,I thought the name of GeraldsG little rowboat (in My Family and Other Animals) was so funny. It still makes me laugh, even as an adult

Forgot to say that Hitchhikers is also a big fave – Vogon poetry anyone? Douglas Adams was a genius – his comment about deadlines is one of my favourite quotes – “I love deadlines, I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly past”.

I discovered My Family and Other Animals when I was about eight years old. My sister’s friend from medical school, Anthony, gave me a copy. He was Nigerian and had enjoyed it when he was younger. I read most of Gerald Durrells’ other works, but the Corfu Trilogy was always my favorite. I’ve been enjoying the new series, and it’s interesting to see the other characters so fleshed out compared to what I remember from childhood.

A bit of tv trivia: Keeley Hawes starred in the short-lived reboot of Upstairs Downstairs circa 2010. It only lasted two seasons but I enjoyed it thoroughly. Claire Foy played her scandalous younger sister. The cast also included Eileen Atkins and Jean Marsh (creators of the original series) in small roles, as well as Alex Kingston (Dr. River Song), Anne Reid (Last Tango in Paradise), and Adrian Scarborough, who pops up in all sorts of projects and is in my opinion a highly underrated actor!

I wholeheartedly concur with you about the book (I re-read it every now and then and it always makes me laugh out loud in places) but despite the acting, I can’t get past all of the changes to the story that they made in order to make it more television worthy!

I remember watching a TV show with Gerald Durrell (maybe The Stationary Ark?) long ago (as in the 70s), then found the “My Family” book which I love. I’m enjoying the new series, but there is an earlier version of the “My Family and Other Animals” book made into a movie with the same name. It was broadcast in 2005 with Imelda Staunton as Louisa–definitely worth finding at your library or wherever. There may also have been another earlier dramatization.

I’ve loved My Family and Other Animals for years; I read it when I was about 10. There are two more books in the series, too! I’ll have to check out the PBS series, it looks like everyone here is recommending it.

Eccentric Brit family on a sundrenched Greek island? That is literally all you needed to say to me. I binged the first 4 episodes on Sunday right after I read this, and I love it so much. It is indeed soothing in a troubling world. I plan to read the books AFTER watching the series – I completely understand that often when you read and love a book, you do not want any show or movie to change it for you. I’ll see how it goes to do this in the opposite order!